Public healthBoulder Colorado hit with plague and rabies
On 3 June, the Boulder County Public Health (BCPH) department warned residents of the Mapleton Hill area that a domestic cat and a dead squirrel had tested positive for the plague; according to Joe Malinowski, the manager of BCPH’s Environmental Health Division, last week a second dead squirrel was found with the plague, but the cat had been successfully treated for the disease; so far there have been no other confirmed cases, but residents have reported several additional dead squirrels
Residents of Boulder, Colorado are breathing a sigh of relief as the minor plague outbreak appears to be over.
On 3 June, the Boulder County Public Health (BCPH) department warned residents of the Mapleton Hill area that a domestic cat and a dead squirrel had tested positive for the plague.
According to, Joe Malinowski, the manager of BCPH’s Environmental Health Division, last week a second dead squirrel was found with the plague, but the cat had been successfully treated for the disease.
So far there have been no other confirmed cases, but residents have reported several additional dead squirrels. Malinowski said that health officials will not test more squirrels unless two or more are found in the same location.
There have been no reported cases of humans catching the plague. Symptoms include high fever, extreme fatigue, and painful, swollen lymph nodes.
Residents have been advised to keep cats indoors.
In 2005 a similar plague outbreak had hit the area, but was found in prairie dogs and not squirrels.
Malinowski said that the plague disappears within a few days.
“It goes through the population pretty quickly,” he explained.
Last week, officials confirmed two cases of rabies in bats and advised residents to avoid contact with the animals.
